A Handbook on the Norman
Conquest
The title we’ve
used for this review of this excellent little account of the Norman Conquest by
Professors Livingston (The Citadel) and DeVries (Loyola) reflects the fact that
they do much more than just take us around battlefields and tell us who won and
who lost and why.
The authors open with
a chapter reviewing the background of Anglo-Saxon England and its
turbulent recent history. They then follow
with a chapter discussing William of Normandy and the roots of his claim to the
throne of England. Then they get to the
events of 1066
There are chapters
on the Norwegian invasion of the north and England’s King Harold Godwinson’s response,
the organization of William’s expedition and his landings in the south, the
Battle of Hastings proper, and the follow up to the battle, which by no means
ended Anglo-Saxon resistance, a matter often overlooked in accounts of the
Conquest.
Their writing is concise,
with many side bars to identify people, explain technical terms, and so forth, and
each chapter ends with a recommended tour route. Of particular interest is
their little profiles Harald
Hardrada , the King
of Norway, and the less well-known Edgar the Ætheling, the actual heir to
Harold of England, both of whom had adventures the would seem improbable if
found in an heroic fantasy novel
1066: A Guide to the Battles and the Campaigns is a very good
book for anyone who knows little about the conquest, and one which even those
well up on the subject may find interesting.
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